Thursday, May 25, 2017

A warm night but a wet one as well. The rain started in the wee hours before dawn this morning and continued pretty much all day. Not a hard rain but a nice soaker which of course we could use as things have been pretty dry here for a while. The last rain was a huge downpour which basically only managed to moisten the top layer as it simply ran off without soaking in. The day time temps were chilly today as well, reaching a high in the hours just before noon of about 16C/62F but dropped steadily throughout the afternoon to a temp now of about 12C/54F. More rain in the forecast but Saturday is looking like a nice day!!

That brownish coloured thing is a Morel. Not many around these last number of years.

I've been slowly getting things worked out for the Dogsled, by next week I'll have Ontario Insurance and will be able to finish the Ontario Registration process as well. June 1 the Dogsled goes under the knife to have the heater replaced in the BluDef Tank as the engine light code points to that issue. Covered under warranty. I'm extremely happy about that. So we will be heading to the small northern town of Espanola to have that issue fixed. An afternoon appointment time of 1 pm with assurances of having it finished by 5 pm. I explained I'm from an hour and a half 's drive away, this is my only vehicle and I would require a loaner if they can't have it fixed in one day. Hopefully it's just the couple hours he assured me it would be.

Some Marsh Marigolds along my walking route.

I've been walking pretty much every morning after coffee time at Dad's. I leave the Igloo around 6:15 am for the short walk to Dad's house for coffee, leave his place around 7:15- 7:30 am head out for my walk returning home around 8:15 - 8:30 am unless I take the longer walk around the block which then gets me back around 9 am. It's a wonderful walk, quiet, peaceful, some very beautiful sights to see along the way. I even walked this morning in the light rain.

I walk this road pretty much every morning. To the left is Leeson's Bay.

I've been slowly working my way around the Igloo working on some drafts we've found. It's amazing how some places just get totally missed when they are putting these things together. We've found a somewhat big draft from the vent on the stove. I've even closed the flaps outside but it doesn't stop the draft, it slows it down but not enough to make me happy. ~laugh~ So I'm trying to figure out a way to fix that issue as well. I'm blonde and a slow thinker so it takes awhile. ~laugh~

Leeson's Bay

For dinner a few nights this week we've been experimenting with different variations of a chicken dish. I've used boneless, skinless chicken breasts chopped into bite size pieces sauteed with a few different kinds of dressing. After the chicken/dressing has been browned I add whatever veggies we want, usually mushrooms, green beans, red, yellow, orange peppers, and/or asparagus. Let that simmer away while I cook either rice or pasta. Finally I toss the two together, add a bit of parm cheese and that's dinner. We've tried Roasted Red Pepper, Sundried Tomato, and of course the stand by of Zesty Italian. So far we like the Roasted Red Pepper best. Adds a really nice flavor to the chicken.

To the right is the road to Dad's, straight on just before the bend is the driveway to the Igloo.

A call today to the Verizon folks has got the internet connection working much faster and we're thinking of going with the unlimited data plan. It works out to be a bit cheaper than our current plan with no connection fees each time we turn it on. So we're considering this plan but we'll give it some more thought as it works out to be approx $100 US a month which for us Canucky's is about $130 CAD. That seems a bit high to me but then again, maybe it isn't when I factor everything in.

This picture is taken from the same spot as the one above just in the opposite direction.

Spent a couple of hours on the phone with my friend Linda the other day just catching up. Looking forward to having a chance for a longer in person visit in the up coming weeks. Always fun to see her and Randy.

Okay on that note, I've rambled long enough. Today's pic were mostly taken on cloudy overcast days and therefore do not do justice to the route I walk. At some point in the future I"ll take some pics on a bright sunny day to show you how truly nice it is.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. Until next time....be safe, take care.....

Monday, May 22, 2017

Hello, I know you thought I was missing but truly I’m not, I’m lazy, tired and a few other things. ~laugh~ It’s been a busy time here settling in, getting things set up, visiting folks and just working on a number of small things. I apologize for the long absence but well you know how it is.

Seen from the rear above our spot, the whitish area is all rock.

We’ve been spending our time getting back to Island Time and Island Pace which isn’t speedy. ~laugh~ I think if we get any slower we’ll be stopped. However it’s a nice pace to settle into for now. By summer’s end we’ll be ready for a faster pace, not rapid but faster.

Same spot as above but a bit different angle

We’ve been dealing with Riley’s medical issue and I believe we have things pretty much heading forward in the right direction. The blood test results came back with no markers showing so there is no indication of cancer in her tumor/cyst. We have an appointment in Sudbury on June 15 with the a Gynecologist and we are hoping the wait will be short to have this thing removed. After that we’ll deal with her foot issue and hopefully by mid summer everything will be back to normal.

Higher up with a view of the Lake

The Dogsled is still bearing Alabama plates as the broker at the custom office in Queenston neglected to send me away with ALL the proper documentation. I was not impressed to say the least. Argo Brokers will never again have any of my business, I would avoid them if at all possible if anyone is looking for a broker. However I now have all things necessary to finish the job here to be registered in Ontario. I have until June 1 before the safety expires so I’ll have everything completed by then.

The Igloo is to the left and down a level from this spot

A few mechanical issues have cropped up as well but I’ll deal with those one at time. While the buying in the US experience has been a learning curve I would be much better prepared if I ever do this again. I think the whole thing would be much easier as I would now know what to expect, where to go, exactly what papers are needed and I would be more diligent in my preparation. I would just pick a different broker.

A view of our fire pit from above, Igloo is to the left (not seen)

The days have been cooler than expected here with overnights touching into the below or right at freezing levels. We’ve had a few nice days with lots of sun but the wind has been from the north and as we all know that north wind is not EVER warm. ~laugh~ We’ve had a bit of rain and this week Riley and I managed to get ourselves into a massive downpour while driving home. It was raining hard enough to remind us both of rainy days in the US south. Hard, pelting, driving rain with strong winds, didn’t last longer than about 45 minutes but it made driving less than enjoyable.

The back of the Igloo as seen from the back side of our fire pit.

Visits with my sister Janet on a number of days have been nice, getting caught up and just enjoying the company. My brother Rick and I haven’t really had a chance to sit down and just chatter but we did manage about an hour the other day. We do meet every morning at Dad’s for coffee time before brother heads off to work. Catching up with SIL Barb has been about the same since she too is working most days. Managed a quick visit with my Aunt and her hubby the other day, it was nice to see them both. We’ll be visiting a few more folks as time goes forward.

Our back patio (before the big BBQ was brought out of storage

Our neighbours, Holmes’ Cattle (8 cows, 8 calves, 1 bull) have been around the area for about a week now but they haven’t dropped in at the Igloo for a visit yet. ~laugh~ We have had a number of other visitors though, a porcupine, a rabbit, a chipmunk, numerous vultures and of course some smaller birds. Nearby I’ve seen deer, otter, geese, ducks, loons and some sand hill cranes. Folks have been talking about a bear but I haven’t seen any indications of one so far.

Our summer location, although it doesn't show it it's actually pretty green.

Our days are filled with putzing around, cleaning up, setting up, doing a few things to help family, and just settling back in. I walk every day, usually at least a couple of miles, sometimes further, some times less. I’ve used my new reciprocating saw a few times, works well as I’ve been trimming things here and there. So as you can see we’ve been much busier here than we were down south. I find that by the end of the day I’m tired and usually my fingers are aching from all the days activities and the last thing I want to do is pound on the keys of the computer. By the time dinner is finished and we’ve cleaned up we are both usually ready for some relaxation and there just isn’t any way I can spend the next couple of hours writing and editing as I’m just too tuckered. ~laugh~ So again I apologize for being absent but it is the way of things here on Manitoulin Island in our summer place. Perhaps once things get settled more, or we are more used to the cool crisp air instead of dragging our butts at the end of the day I’ll be able to spend a bit of evening time doing some writing.

Our side yard which is usually much more green than now

The solar panels are working very well, they keep our batteries topped up nicely. I will admit we aren’t charging much though and we aren’t using a lot of power either. However I am impressed so far. We’ve discovered we may need a heavier cable from the batteries to the 12V plug by the TV as it just doesn’t seem to be heavy enough to run the necessary inverter for the tv. We’ve tried a few other things and we know there is enough power but just not at the plug. Since we are using portable inverters as we have no major need for a big one I’m thinking the running of a heavier cable may be the way to go. I’ll talk to my nephew the electrician and ask his opinion.

Bay at Rogers Creek on one of my morning walks

Thanks for dropping by, I’ll be around from time to time but I doubt I”ll be writing much more often than once a week for a while.

For Patsy who asked for recent pics of our summer spot, I hope you enjoy these, I took them with my phone and not the big camera as I was up working on the very top of the hill and had my phone with me.

Monday, May 8, 2017

(blogger is being very difficult tonight and I'm just going to post the post how it is, after 3 hours of trying to fix the layout I'm too tired to fight any longer.)The past few nights have been cold, right at or below the freezing mark and my morning trek to Dad’s house for coffee is a bit nippy. Sometimes that old north wind just whistles down the road right into my face causing my teeth to chatter. ~laugh~ Aw well, it’s a short walk and I make it in quick time. The days have been warmish but once again the north wind makes them less comfortable than they should be. However this shall pass as spring is here and of course the warmer weather is also on it’s way.

The
weekend was quiet and uneventful, although we did manage to visit with a
couple more family members including Isabel and Seth, (niece Nicole’s
two little folks), along with catching a hug and a glimpse of nephew
Jesse and his girlfriend Claudia. My sister Jan also came out for a
visit which lasted for a few hours during which we spent some time
staggering around in the bush hunting for the ever elusive mushroom type
known as Morels. We found a very few and although she offered to share
50/50 I declined, giving her our entire haul. Generous wasn't I? After
all what would I do with 3 morels? ~laugh~

View from up above our spot

I
managed to put in at least one walk a day, sometimes only a mile or so,
but twice I’ve managed to get myself around the ‘big’ block which clocks
in according to my dad at 3.5 miles. It takes me about an hour and 20
minutes now that I’ve got my sea legs under me again. The gravel road is
a bit of a challenge at times as the gravel in some places isn’t always
the small fine stuff but with all the rain it can get muddy in places
as well.

This
morning started off with my short stroll to Dad’s for coffee time at
6:30 am, after which I went around the big block (added together it’s
probably about 4 miles), back home before 9 am. Mind you it was a bit
nippy in a couple of spots but I was starting to get warm by the time I
was coming down through the inside trail to the Igloo on the homeward
stretch.

Old Igloo and Dogsled taken from the same spot as the above pic.

While I
was just putting the bagels on to toast my phone rang, the ODSP rep was
calling me back since I left message on Thursday. She couldn’t help me
but instead put me through to the case worker. I can say with absolute
certainty that this is the way to start off Monday morning. The call was
fruitful and within 10 minutes I had Riley’s issues with them
straightened out. I also had a list of things to do to ensure that this
doesn’t happen again. I can tell you I”m extremely pleased with the
start of the week.

After
bagels and a quick tidy (yes I know it’s Monday and we didn’t clean) we
headed out to brother Rick’s place to shower and do a quick chore or two
there. From there it was back home to finish up the necessary items
required to email ODSP, a check of Riley’s blood work (which all shows
good, no red flags), and pay a few bills. After that it was a matter of
just reading my book and taking it easy.

Front yard

Riley
headed out for a walk today up in the field. She was gone about a half
hour and seemed to be doing better when she got back. I think the
walking is good for her but she seems to have discomfort from the effort
of walking up the hill. I’ll be glad when we have her issues behind
us. Her blood work results show no red flags but I haven't yet spoken
with the doctor but it's looking good for a quick resolution.

She
made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies this afternoon. They are excellent.
The recipe is from her sister Bradey. The only problem with the cookies
is they don’t seem to last long. We can’t decide where they disappear to
but we do know they disappear. ~laugh~

Upper part of the driveway

Dad
was off to Espanola today and so we haven’t seen him since early
morning coffee time. We walked up to check on him, finding him putting a
fire on in the wood stove to take the coolness out of the air. They
have had a fire on since last October with I think he said maybe 2 days
of letting it go out this spring. Gives you an idea of how the weather
is here on this little rock in the middle of Georgian Bay. The last few
days the forecast has talked about possible flurries a little further
north of us. The rest of the week looks to be hovering around the
freezing mark most nights with day time highs reaching between 10 -13 C/
50 -56F. The north wind is the factor that plays havoc with the warmth
and if you can find a spot out of the wind it's pretty nice sitting
outside.

Tomorrow
we will head out to the post office to check on the letter from the
broker. Hopefully it arrives quickly and I can get this truck stuff out
of the way. That would be so wonderful. ~laugh~ Tomorrow will also see
us getting our second small 20 lb propane tank filled. We keep two here
for BBQing, using with the heater and of course having an extra tank
never hurts anyway. With these cold nights we heat the Igloo up pretty
good before bedtime but turn the heater off at night. I turn it on again
early in the morning when I get up and it usually stays on until at
least noon, but some days it's on most of the day. Low and slow, like
the BBQ. ~laugh~

From our fire pit area

Laundry
is calling us, some banking, and of course a few other odds and ends
that need to be taken care of as well seem to be the agenda for the rest
of this week. A few things we absolutely need to get accomplished will
be top of the list over the next number of days.

For
those that follow this blog, I want to apologize for not being more
active in reading your blogs, commenting and of course replying here to
your comments. It's just a bit busier here when we first arrive and I
don't always have the time or the energy to do so. As the summer goes on
I'll get more into the routine of doing those things again but for now
it's just a bit more than I can handle.

Taken while standing at the front end of the Igloo.

Dinner
tonight was something a bit different for us, we of course cooked
inside again. We had fried potatoes, Orange Zest steamed vegetable
medley, and Italian Chicken Breasts. We followed that with some Oatmeal
C. Chip cookies. A couple of games of Yahtzee ~doing my happy dance~ and
after that we headed off in our own directions.

Thanks
for following along, I'm so glad you dropped by. I will eventually get
some new pictures of our spot but for now I'll post a couple taken over
the last few years.

Friday, May 5, 2017

The morning dawned not quite as cold as yesterday and the day that followed was nice except for the wind which came from the north. It caused one to feel much colder when standing around or walking into the wind. Otherwise it wasn’t too bad.

This morning I left the Igloo at 6:15 am, took the long route to Dad’s house for coffee time. Like yesterday its as the same crew and while the stories were different, they basically were the same. ~laugh~

Spring is coming...

From there I headed out for my short morning walk finding it a bit chilly in places but almost too warm in others. I enjoyed the silence again and seen nary a person or sign of wild life other than the ducks. Riley sent me an email just as I turning to start home, the small propane tank we use for the Mr Heater ran out. We’ve used it steadily since a few days before we left The Ridge, some days on high most of the day, some days on high for only a bit. We shut it off at night but I turn it on early in the morning to take the chill out of the air before Riley gets up. So I have no complaints about how quickly we went thru this tank, it’s kept us very warm and cozy throughout these cold days.

I realized as I walked up the hill toward home that I was more hungry than normal. Time for some scrambled eggs and a half a bagel. It was good and hit the spot. After tidying up a bit we jumped into the Dogsled to go bring our things out of storage. Well everything except the big BBQ. I’ll ask some of the folks around on the weekend to bring it down for me. It’s too heavy for me on my own and Riley can’t help. When I say storage I mean storage at my Dad’s in the out buildings around the place. We managed to get everything put away, unpacked and set up before noon. I can tell you I worked hard all morning and I’m not finished as now I have to clean out the basement since things were kind of stuffed here and there over the past few weeks.

Heading out for my morning walk

After a quick lunch we once again climbed into the Dogsled, turned our nose toward the nearby village of South Baymouth. Today is the first sailing of the season for the Chi-Cheemaun, I believe there will be 3 round trips today. Spring schedule has 2 round trips per day except Fridays and Holidays which will have 3. Some time in late June it begins the summer schedule of 4 round trips per day. We however didn’t make the trip to see the ferry, it had come and gone and hadn’t yet returned when we were there. We stopped Carl’s Trading Post to exchange our empty 20 lb tank. Robert of course was very helpful exchanging the tank for us.

Home from there we managed to unload the tank, grab our new walking sticks before heading the long route to Dad’s for a quick visit. We found Dad hard at work, or maybe hardly working but at least looking busy working on his travel trailer. They are planning to go on a short trip in the middle of the month. They plan to head north to Wawa, Timmins, etc just to get away. I hope they enjoy themselves.

Almost home from my walk....

We stood around chatting with Dad for a bit, then went to the house to sit around chatting for a while longer. How do we find things to talk about? ~laugh~ Home by 3 pm I managed to answer some emails, and read a short western that I brought home from Dad’s house.

Seen this guy heading up Rogers Creek

He decided flying was faster....

Around 5 pm I prepped dinner, tonight we had JD Smokehouse Chicken Breast, Italian vegetable medley, and chicken rice. We of course followed that with some peaches. Don’t ya just love peaches?

Rogers Bay, I turn around not far from this point....

Cleaning up took a while but we finally managed to finish everything around 8 pm. I realized I am extremely tired and I think it’ll be an early night tonight.

So a day that seen me accomplish getting our summer spot set up and cleaning out the storage areas of our stuff. We managed to get a visit in with dad, and I managed to get a couple of nice short walks in. All in all a good day!!!

It didn't seem this dark when I took the pics...

I hope you had a great day where ever you may be!!! On that note I will sign off.Thanks for stopping by. Until next time…be safe, take care…..

Thursday, May 4, 2017

This mornings temp was just under the freezing mark at 5:30 am but warmed up to the freezing mark around 8 am. No wind made it feel chilly but not overly. Mittens and a hoodie along with my light jacket were enough to keep me warm when I was heading up to Dad’s shortly before 6:30 am for coffee time with the crew. Short walk, about 10-12 minutes but it was muddy in places although I managed to find a few patches of gravel in all that mud and tip toe my way across. Tomorrow I’ll take the longer route but it’ll be less muddy. The day was a nice day, not bright blue skies but with the hint of sun and little wind, the temps weren’t too bad at all. Two nice days in a row, is it possible we have turned that corner?

Coffee time included Dad, brother Rick and Rick’s wife Barb. We enjoyed a few laughs, a couple of stories and possibly a few lies. ~laugh~ It’s coffee time, what do you expect?

No new green. Stopped for construction between Sudbury and Espanola

I left dad’s around 8 am heading out for my usual (when here ) morning walk. It takes me around the hour mark which makes it about a mile. It’s on a gravel road, a nice country stroll with a number of rolling ups and downs. I didn’t see a single soul when I was walking or even see a single vehicle, in fact the only wild life I seen this morning were some ducks on the water, that’s it!!

Back at the Igloo around 9 am I gathered up my goodies, heading to my brother’s house to take a shower. While parking here in our summer location we shower at my brother’s house and in exchange I do a few little chores around the house which is excellent for me as it keeps me from being extremely bored, it helps keep me out of trouble, and I enjoy helping out. They both work out of the house and so the little things we do may help that ‘burden’ of work that still needs to be done. I was back home around 10:45 am so we could start our day.

After calling my sister to ensure she was home and up for a quick
visit we climbed into the Dogsled to start our errands. Our first stop
was at the post office in Tehkummah to pick up 6 months worth of mail.
Hmmmmm…..not as much as I expected but still a lot of mail, chatted with
the nice post mistress for a bit before heading on to our next stop.
The beautiful little town of Manitowaning is situated on a hill over
looking Manitowaning bay, the water is a dark blue at this time of the
year as it’s cold and icy looking. Across the bay is the Wikemikong
Reservation which is well known for it’s annual summer PowWow drawing
many dancers from great distances. We stopped at the pharmacy along one
of the main streets,( sister in law Barb works at this location) where I
left a prescription to be filled, crossed the street to the only
grocery store in town to pick up a couple little things and then worked
our way to my sister Jan’s house. We visited with her for about an hour,
taking a walking around the block, picking up her mail, and just
getting out and about for a bit. It was great to see her again, I’ve
missed her. We’ll visit a lot more over the summer.

Lots of water laying around.

From my sisters house we headed out to do some errands associated with the Dogsled and it’s registering in Ontario. I’ll give you the nut shell version, broker didn’t give me all the paper work, Service Ontario rep won’t let me register until the sends the paperwork, broker says S.O. Rep doesn’t need it, S.O. Rep wants the original, broker says S.O. Rep doesn’t need it. I yelled at broker, he yelled back and I still have ‘Bama plates and US insurance on the truck. Salvage yard weighed the Dogsled, weighs just over 7000 lbs. Stay tuned…..like sands thru the hour glass…..~laugh~

From there we headed home, it was getting late and we were starting
to think maybe we should have some lunch soon. About 10 minutes after
leaving the Service Ontario Building (registration place for the
Dogsled) we happened by this young person on the side of the road with a
sign saying SOUTH, and considering we were heading south and were only
about 15 minutes from the very southern tip of the island and that would
be about 5 or 6 minutes from the Igloo we stopped to offer a ride.
Turns out the young man is deaf and so communication was almost none
existent but we did manage to find out that he wanted to go to that
exact southern most tip and catch the ferry boat. He pointed on the map
so I knew where he wanted to go, and within a short period of time we
had delivered him to the front door of the ferry terminal. Our good deed
for the day.

Home to the Igloo we settled in to open mail, have
some thing to eat and kind of just wind down. To say that opening the
mail was time consuming would be an understatement. I think I was about
45 minutes opening up the mail. I made two phone calls as a result of
the mail,one was handled instantly, the other I’m waiting for a call
back. I managed to get everything sorted out and stacked into piles that
I will figure out what to do with over the next few days.

One of the many rock cuts on our drive to the Island

We kind of just grazed from one thing to another and so when dinner time showed up neither of us were hungry. We kind of just skipped it. Not a good thing I know but oh well, that’s just how it worked out. ~laugh~

After that Riley headed off to her room, I read for a while before sitting down to do my blog. I can tell you that todays outing was a day of wild life sightings, 2 ground hogs, 1 deer, 1 minx, and a number of vultures. Spring is in the air, and the animals are stirring.

Tomorrow, well who knows what tomorrow will bring. However I’m pretty
certain whatever it is will be dealt with, just as every thing has been
dealt with, one step at a time. A letter in my inbox this afternoon from
the Dealership in Alabama about my old truck. They want to sell it and
need some kind of form, information about where i crossed, and did I
fill out such and such a form. US Export office told me when I crossed
that the dealership won’t be able to sell it until it passes customs
down there. I didn’t know that at the time of trading it, and I didn’t
tell them that in the letter today either. Hm…..it is a tangled mess.
~laugh~

No green hints but the odd bit of red can be seen.

So there you have it, our day. To say it was exciting would be true in some ways, seeing my siblings and my sister in law was fantastic, it’s been a long time. Getting back into our routine here is comforting. I’m looking forward to the first camp fire of the season which I hope will be soon. We need to get the things out of storage here and set up the ‘yard’, we are both looking forward to seeing my niece and nephews along with their families and significant others. Getting back to walking will be nice, it will help relieve the stress. To say the day was also stressful would be accurate with more stuff than just the crap with the Dogsled going on and needing attention. I believe Forrest Gump had it right, or maybe it was Mamma Gump, life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’ll get until you bite into it. ~laugh~

A wise man told me once that if we didn’t have bad days we would never know to appreciate the good ones. So keeping that in mind, this too shall pass!

I've been kind of busy and haven't commented on any comments, nor have I read any other blogs. I will get to them in the next number of days answering comments and also reading/posting.

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

We woke this morning in Lively, Ontario to a temp of 31F/-1C outside but no frost or wind, which made it seem much nicer. Monday night in Hamilton was also a coldish one but the temp escapes my memory. Yesterday was of course rain all day but today was blissfully sunny and very nice. The outside temp reached 54F/12C this afternoon and we had the big door open for a bit. It was fantastic.

Yesterday’s drive wasn’t long even though it sounds long, we pulled out of Hamilton at 9:15 am, stopping just north of Toronto for about 15 minutes at the Enroute near King City. From there our next stop was right around lunch time at Parry Sound where we pulled in grabbing a bite to eat from the Tim Horton’s. I had a nice Crispy Chicken Sandwich, Riley ordered her usual, a BLT, we both added potato wedges but won’t do that another time, they were terrible. We also filled up with fuel at $1.19 per litre (approx 4 litres to a gallon), Hamilton was $1.04 per litre and when we filled up at the turn off of Hwy 17 and Hwy 6, it was $1.11 per litre. A big tank is nice but expensive. ~laugh~ We left Parry Sound stopping once more before reaching our destination of Lively, Ontario just a little after 3 pm.

We called our friend Linda making plans to drop by for a quick visit about 8:30 pm. It was fantastic to see both Randy and Linda again, it’s been 6 months!! We enjoyed the pics of their holiday in Cabo, Mexico and hearing all about the wonderful adventure they had with their friends Wayne & Anna. You know a place is great if you’ll return and they didn’t hesitate to say they would return another time.

Back to the Igloo we snuggled down into our beds and I personally never heard a sound until 6 am this morning. I don’t sleep like that very often so it was a real shock for me. Riley turned over when I started the heater but went back to sleep for a bit. By 7:40 am we were packing up inside and outside. We spent a bit of time doing a few minor things before hooking up but we pulled out of our parking spot at 8:50 am heading further west and then south.

Of course Ontario only has two season, winter and construction. We’re in the later season now as we were constantly in construction zones all the way yesterday and most of today. At one point we were delayed for 10 minutes waiting for the flagman to let us go. It looks like the drive to and from Sudbury will be long this summer as construction will be an ongoing thing until the snow flies again. Hopefully the delays aren’t as bad as they were last summer/fall when wait times were much longer.

We pulled in at the junction of Hwy’s 17 & 6 to top up our fuel and some Tim Horton’s. Didn’t take long and we were back on
the road again. Within a few minutes we reached the mall in Espanola with
the time being around 10 am, pulling in we managed to find a great
spot to park at the end of the lot. We took our time going into a number of different stores getting a few things that we knew we’d need, some things that we thought we’d like and even a few things that we hadn’t planned on getting. We piled the groceries into the Igloo and headed out about 12:15 pm.

If you have ever driven the stretch of road between Espanola and the Island they know it’s hilly, curvy and rough. Today was no exception but there was very little traffic and we were able to cruise along without any slow downs. No leaves are out here, lots of buds around, and a red tinge to some of the smaller bushes, a few pussy willows were out, the grass is green and there is lots of water laying around, but spring hasn’t quite made an appearance yet. We crossed the swing bridge around 1 pm and headed straight south from there.

We pulled into Dad’s driveway just about 2 pm with a warm, sunny afternoon ahead of us. We chatted with Dad for a bit, dropped some things in his freezer and headed on to our summer spot about a 1/4 mile away. We had a few things to do before pulling up the hill to our site, with all the water the ground was pretty soft in some places but I just tucked the Dogsled into 4 wheel low and we crept up the hill with no issues of any kind. Took about a half hour to get turned around, parked where we wanted to be parked, and get unhooked. After that we worked on a number of inside/outside chores and by the time I was having a snack around 3 pm we had just finished everything. Dad and Marion dropped by for a quick visit which was nice.

They left and we closed the big door, came inside and read for a bit. We enjoyed sitting here with all the window blinds open and enjoying the peace and quiet that comes from being ‘out in the boonies’. ~laugh~ A call from Dr. Dube’s office in Hamilton came in around 4 pm informing us of Riley’s appointment in Sudbury on June 15. We’ll see how things go next week when the results come back from the blood test she had last week.

Dinner tonight was Honey Pecan chicken, with garlic mashed potatoes and Thyme/Parsley vegetable medley. We followed that with a few peaches.

After dinner we loaded some things into the Dogsled heading up to Poppa’s to deliver his requested items and the gifts we brought back. We visited for about an hour or so before heading back home.

We played a game of Yahtzee, can you see me doing my happy dance? ~laugh~ I did win, and yes I even rolled a Yahtzee. Riley just wasn’t having any luck tonight and I’ll take the win. They are few and far between for me. ~laugh~

After that I did the dishes, tidied up a bit before heading off to write this post. I hope the Mifi works but I haven’t tried it yet. I guess you’ll know if it works as I’ll post this tonight, if not I’ll have to post it at another time.

So we have arrived, safe and sound. We are parked up on the hill with the frogs singing around us, we’ve seen our first porcupine when we were coming home from Poppa’s house tonight. A couple of deer earlier in the day and of course the Sand Hill cranes are in the field behind the house. It’s good to be back home!!!

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. Until next time…be safe, take care….

Monday, May 1, 2017

The last couple of nights and days have been similar in many ways and yet different in others. Mornings are cool bordering on cold, wind is a constant and the wet weather makes everything seem colder. Even on a nice day the wind off of Lake Ontario cools things greatly. Tonight is warmer than we've had it for a while, hope we've turned the corner on the cold weather.

We took Saturday and Sunday as days of rest with a bit of wandering but not much. Yesterday (Sunday) was so cold, damp and rainy that we stayed in all day and just put in the day. This morning we by passed cleaning day to just a tidy up day, and I left the Igloo about 9:30 am this morning not returning until 4 pm this afternoon. To say it was a long day is an understatement. I arrived at Ozlo's repair shop on Hwy 56 between Elfrida and Binbrook right on time for the boys to pull the Dogsled into the bay for it's safety check. It was nice to see the fellas, Steve, Larry and Patrick, haven't seen them since last fall. Patrick did the safety, Steve was around, and Larry took the money and did the paperwork. It was a slow process and while my appointed hour was 10 am I didn't get out of the shop until 11:30 am. From there I headed off to find someplace to balance my tires, pick up some diesel fuel and grabbed a coffee. A couple of places could do the balance this afternoon with big swings in the price from $85 at the first place to $40 at the next. However since I had a 1 pm appointment at Pyetts for the emissions test some one suggested I get the balance done there as they also do it.

At 12:40 pm I pulled into the yard at Pyetts for my appointment, went inside gave over the keys and asked about the balance. They didn't know if they had time but they'd see when the emissions test was over. They took the truck right away even though I was early. The truck was back out by about 1:15 pm and I asked about the balancing of the tires. They said they didn't feel any issues when they took it for a ride but Patrick- from Ozlo's (like me) had found a serious issue around the 100km mark. I asked them to do it anyway. At 3:30 pm I finally asked at the window if it would be much longer and was told it would be out shortly. Ten minutes later it came out of the shop. The entire bill for emissions and balancing came to $120. I was pleased.

The rain today was intermittent but very hard at times, we had some thunder, some lightning, some wind and the ditches were running full to the brim in most places. So much water laying in fields everywhere, small rivers running down the middle of many fields as the water tries to escape but with the ditches all full there really isn't anywhere for it to go.

Everything is good for the next step which is to go to Service Ontario to get my own plates back on the Dogsled, change insurance companies again and I'll be finished. I'm hoping by the end of the week to be all finished.

Riley spent the day at the Igloo doing whatever it was that struck her fancy. She informed me she had a nap and spent some time just lazing about. She was ready to get out for a bit when I got home. I had a quick bite to eat and we headed out to do a few little things.

Dr. Dube called this afternoon to inform us that we are going to be seeing a Gynecologist in Sudbury by the name of Dr. Wallace. Everything was faxed to this doctor this afternoon and we're waiting to hear more from Dr Dube regarding the appointment date. Dr Dube is certainly giving us her full attention as it was she that spoke to me this afternoon and promised to call me again when they have an appointment date.

First stop in our errands was Princess Auto we needed a few little things and I knew for sure they would have what I wanted and sure enough, they had everything except the inverter I wanted. The ones they had were too big but I'll keep looking. After that it was off to Canadian Tire to check our their inverters and walking sticks. We came home with the walking sticks. After that it was a stop at No Frills for a few little grocery items and I was given a slug that attaches to the key chain so I won't have to hunt for a coin to get a cart any more. From there we headed back to our old neighbourhood to visit Chris and Shaunna MacNeil. They were kind enough to keep a small bistro table and chairs for us over the winter and we picked them up tonight. We brought back a bottle of Mike's Southern Peach Chipotle BBQ sauce for them as a little thank you. Chris looks amazing, he's dropped 50 lbs and looks wonderful. Shaunna is always a pretty lady and hasn't changed though she just turned 40 a few weeks ago. Such nice folks they are, always enjoyed their company. Daughter Ashley was there to greet us and it was wonderful to see her as well. We didn't see son Riley though, not sure where he was tonight. A quick visit with them and we headed back to the Igloo. I dropped Riley off with the groceries and headed back to the storage locker as I remembered we wanted something from there but it was too far back into the locker and I decided not to dig that far. Back home I helped finish up the groceries, we headed into Walmart to get a couple of things, including a chicken for dinner.

After that it was a matter of just hanging out and resting. I had to run a small errand shortly after 9 pm and then headed back into Walmart to return an inverter we had purchased just this afternoon. It didn't have a 12 V plug just the pins to connect to the battery, and that isn't what I wanted. I'll just keep looking.

So that's it, our day in short order. Tomorrow we are heading north and both of us are looking forward to that. We aren't sure how far we'll make it, perhaps only as far as Parry Sound or maybe we'll push a bit to make it to Lively as we are going to be stopping there for a day at least to visit with Randy and Linda. After that it's a short 3 hour drive to our summer location. We're getting closer and closer. ~!laugh~

Friday, April 28, 2017

Our Location: Walmart, Hamilton, Ontario(no pics tonight)A warm overnight had me kicking off some covers and this morning was warm as well. The day heated up nicely however the wind kept things a bit cooler out here in the open space, but it was still a great day. That big round yellow ball in the sky was a welcome sight, hopefully it sticks around for a while, although the weather folks think it'll be gone by Sunday with some pretty cold temps coming our way. However we shall see what actually comes. This morning we packed up our dirty laundry and headed down to King and Ottawa Streets (actually near by) to use their machines instead of finding a creek with a rock to wash 'em. It was pretty busy, the aisles were narrow but we managed to get all four loads washed, dried and folded without too much trouble. I forgot hangers and so we had a bit extra work when we finally got back home. We left about 9 am and managed to get home about 11:40 am, so not bad for us. It is such a nice feeling to have an empty hamper. ~laugh~ Riley made us lunch and my best friend Linda called to check on us. I've known Linda for more years than I care to say but no matter how long it is between chats we still just pick up where we left off the last time. I think we chatted for at least an hour, probably longer. I'm looking forward to seeing her and hubby Randy in the near future and maybe getting a chance to spend more time together this summer at their cottage. Linda was telling me what a great time they had in Cabo, Mexico this past winter with their friends Wayne and Anna. It sounded like a beautiful place with great weather and some pretty amazing food!!!Around 2:30 pm I headed up the big hill hoping to get the Dogsled's emission test handled. Hm....slight problem, the truck is too heavy for them to do the test, they only do light vehicles. He suggested another spot, so off I went. I'll save you the details of my tour of the city of the Hamilton, however the Dogsled will be having a number of appointments on Monday. Starting at 10 am with a safety at Ozlo's, then to Pyette's for an emissions test and an alignment. After that all of our noses will be pointing and heading north. Arriving home I found I was suddenly tired. It just kind of hit all at once, so for the rest of the day Riley and I just kind of lazed about. I couldn't seem to motivate myself for some reason. However I did manage to chop up some chicken, veggies, and garlic, sauteed in a pan which I then added to some rice. Nothing fancy but Riley enjoyed it.

A big happy birthday to my nephew Jesse. Jesse is a wonderful young man who very much enjoys the outdoors, along with hunting, and fishing. Jesse is a test or two away from being a certified welder. Happy Birthday Jesse.

Also a big happy birthday to Bob Blue. Cousin Bob lived in Southern Ontario for many years before retiring back to Manitoulin. Country life seems to suit him!! Happy Birthday Bob. A quick trip into Walmart for a bit of a walk, picked up a couple of things, back home and off to do our own thing. It felt like a busy with us managing to accomplish a couple of things. Thanks for dropping by, until next time...be safe, take care...

Thursday, April 27, 2017

(today's pics were all taken on the Rock in Lake Huron (Manitoulin Island) a few years ago)

Coolish nights seem to be the norm here in southern Ontario. The predicted high didn't materialize or at least not anywhere I was today. It was nice with a bit of a breeze which of course cooled things off, that big yellow ball in the sky was a welcome sight and stayed with us pretty much most of the day. Things clouded over and the rain began to fall just as the evening hours struck. Around 6 pm I think I heard the first rain drops on the roof, followed by a couple of big thunder boomers, a light show of one or three flashes across the skies over the city but other than that it was mostly a rain event. The odd far off rumble of thunder could be heard later in the evening but it was minor rumbling, while the sky turned an ominous shade of slate grey but I think the bulk of the storm went around us. Round about 8 pm the sun was lighting up the store front but the rain drops were still falling.

South Baymouth Lighthouse

We started off this morning by making plans for the day. If you've been following this blog at all you'll know we always make plans but often we don't seem to have the energy, the time or the need to do some of them and they get pushed off until another day. Today was NOT like that at all. First we headed back to the wonderful folks at Dr Yaksich/Dr Adams dental office, Riley was getting fitted for a mouth guard to help her clicking jaw issue. Of course the ladies on the desk were spectacular as always, helpful, knowledgeable, and quick to smile. Dr. Larry graced us with his presence once again today and even did a quick job of reattaching Riley's wire retainer as it had come loose. MaryAnne and Lisa were excited when I told them I'd mentioned them in yesterday's blog, I hope they don't think that makes them stars now 'cause NOT that many people read this little blurb. ~laugh~ I assured them that I said only bad things, I'm almost certain they might have believed me. ~laugh~ So if you are reading Ladies, Hello and welcome!!!!

South Baymouth Marina

From the dentist office we made our way down the hill to Life Labs where Riley needed to have the blood work which Dr. Dube requested yesterday. While she was having her vampire procedure I was on the phone making a few calls that needed to be addressed with regards to doctors, Dogsled appointments and such. The Dogsled needs to have a check up to ensure that he's fit for use in Ontario, I think he also needs to have his breathing checked with an emissions test, all of which must be done before he can be plated and insured here in the wonderful province of Ontario. Hopefully the breathing experts can fit him in tomorrow and the check up with Dr Ozlo's crew is scheduled for Monday morning. I have no worried the big boy will pass with flying colours.

After the blood work we headed back to the Igloo, grabbed a Timmies, changed back into some dirty clothes before making our way back to the storage locker place (it's some dirty work I'll tell ya). Today we managed to finish cleaning out the unheated outside small locker (5x5) and stuff everything into the indoor heated much bigger unit. That will relieve us of a sizeable payment every month. We had to pretty much pull out about 1/4 of the things in the locker to get to the usable but unused space near the back half of the locker. It was suitable for light boxes such as linens, clothes, etc to be piled upon firm wooden pieces of furniture. We then managed to stuff ALL of the other boxes into the space with a bit of room to spare. I was extremely happy to do that. The front desk returned the month's storage they had just taken out about an hour before I told them I no longer needed the unit. Good timing, huh? ~laugh~

View over the islands in the North East waters off the shores near Little Current

After that it was home to clean up and a quick jaunt across the way to Great Clips for a hair cut. We were both due for one as it's been a while for both of us. I was starting to feel like a long haired sheep dog with stuff hanging in my eyes all the time. ~laugh~ I had a wash and trim while Riley had a wash and cut. It's much shorter now and she seems pleased with it. I like it very much.

After that it was home again and for the rest of the day we just kind of rested. Enough work today already!! We were too tired to load up the laundry and head out so that's on the list for tomorrow's chores. We can't wait too many more days or we'll be starting to "look for our cleanest dirty shirt" ( a line from a Kris Kristopherson song - Sunday Morning Coming Down). Therefore tomorrow WILL be laundry day. ~laugh~

Swing Bridge/ Hwy 6, the only all year round route on/off the Island

Since we had a late lunch today dinner time wasn't of any interest to me and Riley decided to manage for herself, which she did just fine. Afterward my hunger pains were satisfied with a nice big juicy Granny Smith apple.

Sailboat waiting to pass thru at the Swing Bridge.

So ended our day. Not life altering or news worthy but it worked for us. We're looking forward to an easier day tomorrow and we'll take the weekend off except for a visit to the old neighbourhood. Monday we'll do our morning appointment and I hope then we'll be heading out along the QEW toward the big city of Toronto and points further north!! Depending on our departure time and traffic we will stay somewhere between Toronto and Barrie, or we'll reach Parry Sound for an over night on Monday. We should be in Lively, Ontario a suburb of Sudbury on Tuesday, an overnight there to visit with my best friend Linda and her hubby Randy. Wednesday we will be off to the Rock and our summer location. So a few short travel days next week will net us a mid week arrival time which should be just in time for the warm up trend to start rolling in. We'd really like that as it will mean we can once again get out and start walking which we haven't been dong lately.

Okay, enough rambling for one night! Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a comment, and until next time...be safe, take care....

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

The overnight was cool but then again it's April in Canada so it could have been a lot worse. The day started off cool as well but eventually warmed up to about mid 50F/10C with a wind off the lake which of course makes it seem like a few degrees cooler.

We had hoped to be departing Hamilton late this afternoon but it wasn't in the cards. We'll be here a couple of more days, had I known we'd be here this long we would have parked at Fifty Point Conservation area with full hookups. However this at least gives us a chance to use our new solar panels, which we had installed in early January in Georgia. It's the first that we've used them and we're still used to dry camping with out them which means we are a bit stingy on turning on lights instead of using our LED lanterns, etc. I know it sounds odd but it's true, we are so used to doing things a certain way when we dry camp that it's difficult to change. I have no doubt we will but it's just odd to find ourselves doing things without realizing we don't have to be quite so diligent about it.

Our morning started off with a trip to the storage unit where we will be returning tomorrow for a bit more work. We are combining two lockers into one and will hopefully get that finished tomorrow. We worked there for a couple of hours and managed to accomplish about half of what we started out to accomplish but half is better than none. After a couple of hours and the amount work we were both tired and ready for a rest.

Back to the Igloo by 11 am we were just relaxing when the local Gynecologist office called to discuss forwarding Riley's paperwork to the new referral. Long story short with some trepidation they convinced us to come down to their office this afternoon and they would see her TODAY but that the doctor felt it was somewhat of an urgent matter. Explaining we had two appointments this afternoon and couldn't possible reach the office before 4 pm they assured us that would be fine, they would be there until all patients were seen by the doctor. We added that appointment to our list.

Lunch was a quick bowl of soup, not the best soup as it came out of a can but it was good for a quick fill up and warm up as well. We both kind of just relaxed for the next hour knowing the rest of the afternoon would be busy. Climbing in to the Dogsled we headed up the hill to see our fantastic dentist, Dr. Larry Yaksich. He's actually retired and sold his practice but still comes in a couple of days a week, we lucked out having him there today. He's been our dentist for many years and we always feel like family when we are there. The ladies in the front office are amazing, MaryAnne and Lisa work magic slipping folks in for appointments and truly make us feel as if we're their best friends. It's a gift they have and it serves them well. Lisa is recovering from a battle with cancer and is doing wonderfully, she looks great, her usual semi short, spiky blonde locks are extra short, extra dark and curly. MaryAnne is always her usual chipper self, quick with a smile, a quip and sparkle in her eye. Truly these two women are special people and we're very lucky to know them.

Our appointments went well but we need to return tomorrow morning as they are going to fit Riley with a mouth guard for sleeping. She's having some issues with her jaw clicking at various times. Dr. Larry thinks the mouth guard may help with that problem. He says its from clenching/grinding her teeth while she sleeps. I wonder if it's hereditary as Bradey also has the same issue.

From there we headed back down the big hill to Hunter Avenue East, coasting to a stop in front of Dr. Dube's office at about 3:50 pm. Putting a couple of bucks in the meter (paying time ends at 6 pm) we headed off for Riley's appointment. The office was full with a few folks sitting outside as it can quickly become hot in the waiting room with too many people. We waited for about an hour and a half before being shown into the room. After discussing the problems with ultra sounds and office visits with Zena on the front desk, next with Rosemary the nurse, we received many, many apologies for the troubles and were assured it's not the norm. Finally after about 20 minutes of sitting in the little exam room the doctor made an appearance. We once again discussed the issues and were assured that it wouldn't happen again. In fact the doctor wrote specific notes on the file regarding HER expectations of how this should be handled. So we'll see how it goes. Eventually we finally got down to the issues. The cyst on Riley's right ovary has grown larger and needs to be taken out. It is showing signs of twisting and is the reason she is having so much discomfort and pain at times. Dr. Dube requested specific blood work, some standard, some specialized that we have to pay for ourselves. She wanted it down as quickly as we can, so we're having it done tomorrow. Dr. Dube is going to refer Riley to a gynecologist that the doctor knows personally in North Bay. She is also requesting an MRI from this doctor. The referral request will go out tonight from the doctor herself. So we can't fault the lady for not picking up the ball and getting things moving for us. After the blood work and the MRI they will decide the best course to take. In 2 weeks I'll contact Dr. Dube or her nurse and get the results from the blood tests (specialized test take a bit longer than regular tests).

We finally left the office at 6:25 pm and headed home. Both of us were extremely tired but glad we went, it's helped answer a number of questions and also helped to ease our minds about exactly where things should to go in the near future. Riley is somewhat relieved and I think given a couple of days she'll be more so once things settle down a bit. Riley dislikes answering the questions that are asked in these situations and will just look at me indicating I should answer them. It's difficult enough for her and at this point I'm more concerned with just getting the information delivered to the doctor than about encouraging Riley to speak for herself. I know sometimes it seems as if I'm overbearing but at this point in the process I think Riley has enough stress without adding any more.

We stopped at the pharmacy on the way back to the Igloo but only picked up my script as the doctor didn't think Riley should continue with her script. It was a quick in and out which surprised us both as it usually takes a while.

Home sure looked pretty inviting when we arrived but we headed off into Walmart to buy dinner instead of cooking. We were both just too tired to think about cooking never mind actually doing it. ~laugh~ Of course we're both stress eaters and so we didn't really make good choices but that's okay, it's one meal and we all need comfort at times. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

After we finished eating it was time to do the dishes that have been accumulating and so armed with the knowledge that we HAD to do dishes it went pretty quickly. Truly it wasn't THAT bad, everything managed to stay under cover in the sinks, so if you visited you would never know we had a sink full of dirty dishes. ~laugh~

After that chore was complete I called my dad to explain we'd not be seeing him as early as I thought. I explained we had a few things come up that were going to take a few extra days and didn't want him to worry when we didn't show up in the next day or two. He assured us that next week is going to be quite chilly up there on the Rock and staying here a bit longer isn't a bad idea. I've looked at the long range forecast and since we'll be approaching mid May shortly the weather is promising to be nicer and nicer. We can handle that!!!!

After that it was a matter of heading in our own directions and doing our own thing. It feels good to just kind of unwind and settle down.

So there you have it, our day here in Hamilton, Ontario. Appointments, apologies, and some work. Tomorrow we have a few things to do that will keep us busy for the day and out of trouble. So on that note, until next time...be safe, take care...

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Get out and do it. Are you waiting for a better time? When do you expect that to be? Next year? The next one after that? It is much better to regret doing the things we’ve done, than to regret never doing them at all.